Behind the Mask
by Gavin Silverblade
Summary: Shiz-era, slight AU. Elphaba suffers through one comment too many, and now she needs Fiyero and Galinda more than ever. Slightly angsty. Fiyeraba, Gelphie friendship. One-shot.


**Disclaimer: I don't own anything from _Wicked_.**

**A/N: Hey, everyone! I decided to take a short break from writing For Your Protection to write this little oneshot. Considering the angst in that story, this was a bit of a reprieve. Anyway, enjoy the story!**

Ever since the scandalacious Crown Prince of the Vinkus, Fiyero Tiggular, had broken up with Galinda Upland, the most popular and beautiful girl on campus, the students of Shiz University would simply not shut up. Day in and day out, there would constantly be people coming up to the both of them. Girls would come up to Fiyero constantly in an obvious attempt to hook up with him, and he would always reply with a vague "Sorry, not interested," or something along those lines, which was extremely out of character for him. Usually, he would jump at the chance to be with another girl, but not this time, much to everyone's confusion. Unbeknownst to all but a select few people, that was exactly the reason why the couple had broken up in the first place.

It had all started a few weeks prior, right after Doctor Dillamond had been fired. Galinda had noticed that Fiyero had become increasingly distant, and whenever she had confronted him about this, he had always responded with, "Sorry, Glin; I've just been thinking, that's all." Even though he was saying this to try to comfort Galinda, it actually had the opposite effect. The Vinkun prince had never been one for "thinking" per se, and it bothered the blonde to no extent to see such uncharacteristic behavior from him. As the days went by, he was showing no sign of snapping back to his old arrogant, egotistic self that she so loved, and it was this that led to the breakup.

The students were stunned when they heard, but the shock quickly dissolved as the female population of the school went to work. They were all convinced that they would be Fiyero's next girlfriend, which was why there was no single person who wasn't rendered completely speechless when it was discovered that he was dating the last person anyone would have ever suspected—the school freak, Elphaba Thropp. Born with unnaturally green skin, she had always been viewed as the outcast, the Artichoke. The very thought that Fiyero could possibly have chosen _her_ over anyone else made them despise her even more.

One Friday afternoon, after classes had ended for the day, Elphaba was walking towards her dorm with Fiyero walking next to her when she heard an all-too-familiar voice call out to her.

"Hey, Artichoke!" The instant Elphaba registered the voice, she groaned internally as Fiyero stiffened. She turned around, an exasperated look clear on her face.

"What is it now, _Avaric_?" She said the name with much disdain made clear in her tone. Avaric grinned.

"Nothing," he replied casually, closing his eyes for a moment before reopening one of them. "Just seeing if Fiyero's latest plaything is still with him after two whole weeks." He turned to Fiyero. "So, how is it?" he asked vaguely. Fiyero's face contorted in confusion.

"What?" he asked, not entirely sure if he wanted to know the answer.

"Oh, you know exactly what I'm talking about," Avaric replied, grinning slyly as realization dawned on the young prince. His face immediately darkened.

"I certainly hope, for your sake, that you're not suggesting that I've…" he trailed off in a way that still made his anger clear. He may have been a bit—okay, a _lot_—of a flirt, but he had been raised on the firm belief that some things should be left until _after_ you were married. Avaric merely laughed in response.

"Oh, come _on_! You really expect me to believe that _you_, of all people, haven't-"

"No." He was interrupted by Elphaba, who, up until that moment, had been silently fuming in anger at Avaric's comments. She was now glaring at him. "We haven't. Now, I suggest you get away from my boyfriend before _someone_ gets hurt." Avaric's eyes narrowed at the threat.

"_Your_ boyfriend?" he said venomously. "Oh, please, Artichoke, he's not your boyfriend. You honestly think that _he_ could ever love _you_? Don't make me laugh." That struck a chord with Elphaba. She had been doubting the honesty of his love for her ever since he'd admitted his feelings right before they had gotten together. Hearing those words coming from even someone like Avaric, whose very existence seemed to be based on making her life as miserable as possible, hurt more than she could have imagined. She instinctively masked her hurt, veiling it with her trademark stone-cold glare. She had sensed that Fiyero had tensed beside her, and she looked at him to see him visibly shaking with anger.

"Don't you _ever_ even _think_ about implying anything like that again," he threatened dangerously through clenched teeth.

"Why?" Avaric asked in a deadpan tone. "It's not like you actually love her; why don't you just admit it?" He turned to face Elphaba again. "Face it, freak. No one cares about you. At. All. Did you honestly think that Galinda would really be willing to be friends with you? She's just doing it to be civil, but I bet that when summer comes around, she'll be throwing a party to celebrate getting rid of you." Elphaba tried hard to keep her pain at bay, but she couldn't stop the tears from showing up in her eyes. At that moment, Fiyero lunged forward and punched Avaric square in the jaw. Hard.

"How _dare_ you?!" he yelled at the top of his lungs, grabbing the other's collar and jerking it towards him. To say that Fiyero was angry at Avaric was a vast understatement. He was absolutely, one hundred percent _livid_. He was fuming as he tightened his grip on the collar. He was just about to shout out something particularly nasty when a noise caught his ears. He turned around, only to find that Elphaba was running in the opposite direction of the scene, her head pointed down to the ground. "Fae…" he whispered longingly before directing his attention back to Avaric. "You're off the hook for now, but I _swear_, the next time you pull something like that, you're going to regret it," he hissed, not missing Avaric's smug grin as he let go of his collar and turned around. He broke out into a run towards Elphaba and Galinda's dorm room, knowing that this was something that Galinda would want to be present for, as well.

* * *

They didn't find her until evening had set in. She was an expert at evading people: when she didn't want to be found, she would do everything in her power to make sure she wasn't. Eventually, however, they found her sitting on a stone bench in a small clearing in the nearby woods. The clearing was somewhat isolated, accessible by a path that few walked on these days. Her head was buried in her hands, her body tense. Both of their hearts broke at the sight as they cautiously made their way over there so as not to startle her. The two shared a concerned look for a moment once they got close before Fiyero stuck out his hand, taking hold of hers. Startled by the sudden touch, she jerked her head up. Her puffy eyes made it obvious that she had been crying, which was always cause for concern. Elphaba Thropp _never_ cried, or at least, if she did, no one ever saw her doing so.

"Fae?" he said gingerly, laying his other hand on top of hers as he sat down. Galinda followed suit, taking a seat on the other side of her. Elphaba stared at him, almost searchingly, before closing her eyes and lowering her would-be gaze back down to the ground. He lifted up his top hand and moved it to her hair, running through it gently. "Hey," he began softly. "You know that what Avaric said is a complete lie, right? Galinda and I… we'd never do anything to hurt you." Receiving no response, he nodded to Galinda, signifying that it was her turn now.

"Elphie…" she started, uncertain of what to say. "You know what Avaric's like. He _lives_ to hurt you. Don't let him get to you like this." Elphaba lifted her head up slowly, looking at both of her friends before sighing and closing her eyes once more.

"Glin… Yero… As much as I'd like to believe you right now, I…" she trailed off, a hurt expression covering her face. "I can't. I just can't," she finished in a broken voice. The very sound of it made tears come to her friends' eyes. They knew that the comments hurt her, but Oz, to see her like this? They had _never_ seen her this hurt before, and seeing it now made them realize just how much pain she went through on a daily basis.

"Fae…" Fiyero looked like he was about to add more, but Elphaba abruptly cut him off.

"All throughout my life…" she whispered as fresh tears came to her eyes. "Not once has anyone ever showed any love towards me. Nessa is the only person that's even come close, and yet… it wasn't real. She loves me because she's my sister, but nothing more. And then…" Her body shook as she inhaled sharply, trying to hold back the tears. "And then you two come along," she finished simply, her voice lowered as if she were telling a secret. Elphaba was crying once again by now, and Fiyero and Galinda silently shed tears of their own. Fiyero squeezed Elphaba's hand comfortingly as her other hand was taken by Galinda. There was a long silence before the crying stopped. "As much as I hate to admit it… Avaric's words held some truth behind them," she said, shocking the other two.

"Fae, what are you talking about?" Fiyero asked incredulously.

"I've been tormented for my entire life, Fiyero," she stated in a suddenly stern tone. "Why should I think that this is any different?" Both of them were left speechless at this. Hearing no response, Elphaba continued. "Exactly. So tell me then, what's the real reason behind why you're here with me right now? Pity? I don't need any of that. Were you dared here? Go on, tell me; you can have your little laugh, and we'll go on our separate ways." The others were gaping at her, hardly believing that she was really saying what they thought she was saying.

"Elphie," Galinda said seriously. "We're here because we care about you. Nothing more, nothing less." The emerald girl's eyes shot open at that, and she turned to glare at Galinda.

"No, you're not," she accused, even though she desperately wanted to believe her. "You can't be," she added, looking away.

"But we are," Fiyero said, hurt by the fact that she thought they were there for any other reason. As much as she tried to hold on to her prior reasoning, hearing the tone in his voice blew any suspicions she had away, and she abruptly broke her hands free of the other two's grips. She wrapped her arms around both of their necks, pulling them into a tight hug, much to their surprise.

"I've never been loved by anyone before," she reiterated softly. There was a pregnant pause before she spoke again. "Knowing that you two do means more than you'll ever know." She looked up to meet Fiyero's gaze first, followed by Galinda. She looked at the ground one last time as she finished the conversation. "Stay with me?" she asked softly, but she already knew the answer. They broke out of the hug, each one them having a small smile on his or her face.

"Well, I suppose we should get going then," Fiyero started after an indefinite amount of time had passed. The sun had long since gone down, and it was a little bit of a trek back to the campus.

"Yeah," Elphaba agreed. "I suppose we should." And as the trio walked on the trail leading back to the campus, the bonds that tied them together stronger than ever, Elphaba looked from one person to the other and knew that no matter where life took them, they were bound together… for good.

* * *

**Thanks for reading, and please make sure to review! See you for chapter 9 of FYP!  
**


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